Container closure with locking ring

ABSTRACT

A reusable container closure utilizing a cap with an integral skirt. The skirt has an enlarged obstruction section separating upper and lower circumferential grooves, which are adapted to receive a retainer ring. With the retainer ring in the lower groove, an enlarged sealing section of the skirt engages the neck of the container to effect a seal. The cap is removed to the upper groove by pulling a tab on the skirt until the obstruction section is reduced in diameter sufficiently to permit the clamping ring to be forced out of the lower groove and into the upper groove.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Vernon C. Heffran Perrysburg, Ohio[21] Appl. No. 857,463

[22] Filed Sept. 12, 1969 [45] Patented Nov. 2, 1971 [73] AssigneeOwens-Illinois, Inc.

[54] CONTAINER CLOSURE WITH LOCKING RING 1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 215/41, 215/45, 215/46, 215/95 [51] Int. Cl B65d 5/36 [50]Field of Search 215/41, 95,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,421,356 5/1947 Saffady215/95 X 3,499,574 3/1970 Yates 215/41 X FOREIGN PATENTS 816,955 11/1955Great Britain 215/48 Primary Examiner-George T. Hall Attorneys-John R.Nelson and Edward J. Holler ABSTRACT: A reusable container closureutilizing a cap with an integral skirt. The skirt has an enlargedobstruction section separating upper and lower circumferential grooves,which are adapted to receive a retainer ring. With the retainer ring inthe lower groove, an enlarged sealing section of the skirt engages theneck of the container to effect a seal. The cap is removed to the uppergroove by pulling a tab on the skirt until the obstruction section isreduced in diameter sufiiciently to .permit the clamping ring to beforced out of the lower groove and into the upper groove.

PATENTEUNDV 2 I97! I1\"VENTOR. VERNON C. HEFFRAN.

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CONTAINER CLOSURE WITH LOCKING RING This invention relates toimprovements in container closures.

In providing closures for bottles or the like, the closure must becapable of providing an effective seal to keep the contents within thebottleslf the contents are under pressure, the sealing requirementsbecome somewhat more exacting. Also, a closure that can be hand removedand subsequently reused, when desired, has many advantages.

with the foregoing in mind, a new and different container closure iscontemplated utilizing a retainer ring to facilitate closure reductionand sealing and that can be stored on the closure until the closure isto be reused and also by its construction utilizes the pressure withinthe container to assist in maintaining the seal.

Further contemplated is a closure that has a unique provision for movinga retainer ring from a clamping position for sealing purposes to astoring position until the closure is to be reused by a simple liftingmotion applied to a tab on the closure.

Another objective is to provide a container closure that has a pull tabformed integral with a skirt on the closure and upon the initial pullcommences venting after which the closure is released from thecontainer.

More specifically contemplated is a reusable closure that utilizes aretainer ring which is moved back and forth between clamping and storingpositions on the closure skirt by displacing an obstruction section onthe skirt through the agency of a pull tab depending from the skirt ofthe closure and that has a novel construction for providing both primaryand secondary seals.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention willbecome apparent from the following description and from the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. I shows a vertical sectional view of a container with a closureincorporating the principles of the invention installed thereon;

FIG. 2 is another vertical sectional view taken along line 2- 2 ofFIGURE 4, the closure being shown in the released position on thecontainer;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the closure in which the pull ring and tab aredeflected horizontally for ease of illustration; and

FIG. 4 is an elevational view, partly in section, of the container andclosure of FIG. I, the closure being shown in the container sealingposition thereon.

Referring now to the drawings and first to FIGURE 1, the numeral denotesa container such as a bottle or the like, with a neck head 12, thecontainer 10 can be formed of any well-known material; e.g., glass,plastic, or metal. The closure for the container is designated generallyat 14 and includes a cap 16 and a retainer ring 18.

The cap 16 is formed of some relatively stiff plasticlike material, suchas polyethylene and has a top 20 from which depends an integral skirt22. The skirt 22 is provided with upper and lower circumferentialgrooves 24 and 26. These grooves 24 and 26 are separated by an enlargedobstruction section 28 that extends outwardly from and is arrangedadjacent to the container neck bead I2. The upper groove 2A includes theadjacent annular corner enlargement 33 which retains ring 18 on theclosure.

Downwardly from this obstruction section 28, and on the inside of theskirt 22 is an enlarged sealing section 30. The enlarged sealing section30 preferably has a smaller diameter in the relaxed position than thediameter of the neck head 12 and is tapered to present somewhat of afrustoconical shape so that the cap 16 snaps onto the container I0 andthen, as displayed in FIG. 1, has a substantial area in sealingengagement with the neck of the container I0. Therefore, with theretainer ring I8 in the illustrated position, a downward force isimposed upon the cap 16 for both urging the sealing section 30 intoengagement with the neck of the container I0 to effect a primary sealand the cap 16 into tighter engagement with the neck bead 12 to effect asecondary seal.

The retainer ring 18 is expandable so as to have a smaller diameter thanthe circumferential groove 26 and must be capable of expanding to moveinto and out of this groove 26 without becoming permanently deformed.Suitable materials for the purpose include rubber or some kind ofplastic or a coil spring can be used.

It is noteworthy that in the FIG. 1 position with the retainer ring 18in the clamping position, a positive pressure within the container 10will act on the cap top 20 and tend to urge it upwardly. This upwardforce enhances the seal around the neck head 12 because of theaforementioned conical shape of the sealing section 30 and the clampingaction of the retainer ring 18. Also, if the pressure is a vacuum; i.e.,a negative pressure, there is a tendency for the cap 16 then to bepulled into tighter engagement with the neck bead I2. Thus, it will beappreciated with this structural arrangement, either negative orpositive pressures will actually improve the sealing relationshipbetween the closure 14 and the container 10.

For removing the closure 14, a tab 3i] which is integral with anddepends downwardly from the skirt 22 of the cap I6 is provided with ringpull 32. This tab 31 is pulled outwardly and upwardly from the FIG. 3position and to FIG. 4 position. This causes the enlarged obstructionsection 28 (FIGS. 1 and 2) to be forced against a neck head 12 whichserves as a pivot joint. Hence, the obstruction section 28 is displacedso that its diameter is reduced until small enough for the retainer ring18 to be forced by the lifting action on the tab 31. past theobstruction section 28 and into the upper groove 24, as shown in FIG. 2.During this lifting of the tab 31, the seals afforded by the sealingsection 30 and that at the neck bead I2 commence to release and ventingwill be initiated and be substantially completed by the time theretainer ring 18 is shifted into the upper groove 24.

Now, with the retainer ring 18 in the upper groove 24, the entireclosure 14 can be removed and the contents of the con tainer I0 emptied.If the container 10 is only partially emptied, the closure 14 can bereplaced by forcing it back onto the neck head 12. The retainer ring 18is then moved from the upper groove 24 into the lower groove 26 and theprimary and secondary seals are again effective between the closure 14and the container 10.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that by a simple rolloutlifting motion of the tab 31, 32, the closure 14 can easily be removedfrom the container 10. The retainer ring 18 never separates from the cap16 and becomes lost or has to be destroyed, but is stored in the uppergroove 24 and retained by annular corner enlargement 33 until theclosure is to be reused. Also, the closure 14 not only provideseffective primary and secondary seals, but the arrangement is such thatthe pressure within the container 10, whether negative or positive,enhances the sealing.

What is claimed is:

I. A reusable manually removable and replaceable closure for a containerhaving an outwardly flared neck portion terminating in a neck bead onthe outer periphery of the container finish, said closure comprising acap of resilient plastic material having a top and an integral dependingannular skirt, the outer side of said skirt having an outwardlyprojecting annular obstruction section located in axially coextensiveradial alignment with said neck bead when said closure is seated uponsaid container, means defining a pair of annular grooves in the outerside of said skirt separated by and located respectively immediatelyabove and below said obstruction section, a downwardly and inwardlyinclined annular seating section on the inner side of said'skirt havinga maximum diameter portion corresponding to the outer diameter of saidneck bead and located in radial alignment with said obstruction section,a tab portion integral with and projecting downwardly from the loweredge of said skirt, and a resilient retainer ring normally seated in oneof said grooves and movable across said obstruction section from thelower of said grooves to the upper of said grooves by radial outwardflexing of said tab portion, said ring being manually movable from saidupper of said grooves across said obstruction section to the lower ofsaid grooves when said cap is seated on said container to sealingly locksaid closure to said container.

1. A reusable manually removable and replaceable closure for a containerhaving an outwardly flared neck portion terminating in a neck bead onthe outer periphery of the container finish, said closure comprising acap of resilient plastic material having a top and an integral dependingannular skirt, the outer side of said skirt having an outwardlyprojecting annular obstruction section located in axially coextensiveradial alignment with said neck bead when said closure is seated uponsaid container, means defining a pair of annular grooves in the outerside of said skirt separated by and located respectively immediatelyabove and below said obstruction section, a downwardly and inwardlyinclined annular seating section on the inner side of said skirt havinga maximum diameter portion corresponding to the outer diameter of saidneck bead and located in radial alignment with said obstruction section,a tab portion integral with and projecting downwardly from the loweredge of said skirt, and a resilient retainer ring normally seated in oneof said grooves and movable across said obstruction section from thelower of said grooves to the upper of said grooves by radial outwardflexing of said tab portion, said ring being manually movable from saidupper of said grooves across said obstruction section to the lower ofsaid grooves when said cap is seated on said container to sealingly locksaid closure to said container.